​The priorities of the EU annual budget for 2016 were at the heart of the discussion between COTER members and Ms Nadia Calviño, Director-General for Budget of the European Commission. Mr Uno Silberg (EE/EA), CoR rapporteur on the Draft EU Budget for 2016, voiced local leaders' full appreciation for the main proposals made by the Commission: ensuring resources for jobs and growth, including for the European Fund for Strategic Investment whilst increasing the EU means to deal with emerging priorities such as migration and safety. COTER members expressed their wholehearted support for the Commission's plan aimed at addressing the current 24,7bn EUR backlog of payments, mainly related to Cohesion policy. The planned elimination of the backlog in 2016 was welcomed as the fulfilment of the basic duty for the EU, to honour its commitments and pay outstanding bills. This priority was shared by the European Parliament's rapporteur on EU budget 2016, Mr José Manuel Fernandes (PT/EPP), who urged the CoR to support the Parliament's effort to make sure that the European Council respects the agreement reached on the EU Multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2020, which included the commitment to eliminate the accumulated delays in payments.